Ramadoss says Jaya is angling for another berth for PMK

Pattali Makkal Katchi founder Dr S Ramadoss said his party was happy about the
allocation of ministership to its candidate, but claimed that All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalitha was making efforts to obtain another berth for the PMK --
a minister of state.

Addressing the press at the Press Club in Madras on Saaturday,
Ramadoss blamed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for the widespread bomb culture in
the state and demanded that he resign owning "moral responsibility" for the same.

He alleged that the chief minister had made two top police
officials "scapegoats" for the blasts. The bombs hidden by
extremists were yet to be recovered, he added.

Asked whether he demanded the dismissal of the DMK government,
Ramadoss replied in the negative.

He, however, claimed that on the two earlier occasions, when the
DMK ministries were dismissed in 1976 and 1990, the people had
welcomed it. In the general election following the dismissal, the
DMK was also voted out, he pointed out.

To a question about Union Law Minister Thambidurai's reported
statement that the Tamil Nadu government had foisted corruption
cases against Jayalalitha and that he
would try to bring out the truth to the people, Ramadoss said his
party would support the law minister's efforts.

Asked how the minister could say so when it was for the
courts to decide, he said there was nothing wrong in exposing the
truth to the people.

Claiming that Karunanidhi's family was among the 100 richest
families in the country, Dr Ramadoss wanted to know how a chief
minister could amass so much wealth.

Asked how Sedapatti R Muthiah of the AIADMK could be a Union
minister when he had been chargesheeted in a corruption case, Dr Ramadoss
said, "The case against him has to be proved in a court of law."

Dr Ramadoss parried a question on whether the PMK now
supported Samata Party president George Fernandes's stand that the
ban on the LTTE should be lifted.